$20,000 Bitcoin Floated… Again

Researchers at Canaccord Genuity Capital Markets, a Vancouver, Canada-based financial institution, recently released a research note regarding Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market. Interestingly, they were slightly bullish. Or by some other measures, they were rather optimistic — too optimistic even. Per MarketWatch, who broke down the report, “HODLers […] could be set for a change in [their] fortunes.”

Analysts Michael Graham and Scott Suh explained that if BTC were to follow the price action it underwent from 2011 to 2017, a clear argument could be made that the cryptocurrency is bottoming as we speak. Funnily enough, they aren’t the first to have made such a call. Justin Sun of Tron, for instance, recently noted that Bitcoin may range from $3,000 to $5,000 for much of 2019, but more likely than not, the cryptocurrency will not see lower lows. Sun isn’t the only industry insider to have made such comments.

Fred Wilson, the co-founder of Union Square Ventures, took to his popular personal blog at the start of 2019 to explain that this year will see a number of “bullish runs, followed by selling pressures” will bless cryptocurrencies with their presence. The selling pressures, he explained, could potentially bring BTC to retest its year-to-date low at $3,150.

From here, Graham and Suh expect for Bitcoin to rally into and through 2020’s halving, and could post near consistent gains until it reaches $20,000 in March 2021.

Fundamentals Catalyst To Push BTC?

While they argued that the technicals, or historicals more accurately, are signaling for a rally in the coming months, fundamentals are arguably just as important. Price may have deviated drastically from industry developments, as explained by Pantera Capital’s Dan Morehead, but such trends are still important to keep an eye on. The two aforementioned analysts from Canaccord wrote:

“We point to several tangible catalysts that could propel the price of bitcoin in 2019. For one, institutional custody solutions are expected to launch in the first half of 2019, led by Fidelity Digital Assets.”

It has been argued that the impending launch of Fidelity Investments’ cryptocurrency division could spark the arrival of the so-called “institutional herd,” there is a lot else going for Bitcoin and the broader ecosystem too. Here are the developments in no particular order:

The Ohio-based Kroger has revealed that it will be dropping Visa credit cards. Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek reached out, and began to discuss with a product manager at the company about the potential integration of Lightning Network.

More definitively, reliable sources tell The Block that Starbucks received a large stake in Bakkt in exchange for accepting BTC transactions in stores the world over.

Samsung, one of the world’s largest technology giants, has revealed that its Galaxy S10 product will offer a cryptocurrency wallet that is consumer-facing.

Although these are all well and good, will they end up pushing the value of BTC higher? For now, no one is all too sure, as the market remains irrational.

In their quarterly update on cryptocurrencies, Canaccord Genuity, Canada’s largest independent investment dealer in Canada, dives into a range of topics, including the topic of security tokens and recent developments in cryptocurrency spot prices.

Yet it also hones in on the popular topic of the bitcoin ETF, which the crypto-community has viewed with renewed fervor following a proposed rule change by CBOE, which is seeking to list such a product in conjunction with money manager VanEck and crypto startup SolidX.

And while acknowledging the interest – and hopes – of those supporting the ETF, Canaccord puts forward the view that the SEC will extend its decision timeline as far as it can – until next March. By contrast, the SEC could, in theory, make a decision as soon as this Friday, August 10.

“And although the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust, seen by many as the most formidable candidate for a potential approval, is due for a potential decision as early as this month, it is largely believed that the SEC will extend its deadline, in which case a decision may not be made until March 2019,” the firm wrote.

And as Canaccord sought to highlight, other investor-oriented products of a similar nature are already available on the market – outside of the U.S., that is.

“Meanwhile, we note that other bitcoin-based securities (e.g., Bitcoin Tracker One) have been available for trading on regulated exchanges as early as May 2015 in Sweden, while north of the border, Canada is working towards its own bitcoin ETF product, the Evolve Bitcoin ETF,” the firm wrote.

Image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) could one day come to be seen as similar to initial public offerings (IPOs), according to a new report from financial services firm Canaccord Genuity.

Canaccord’s fourth-quarter “Crypto Quarterly,” published on Nov. 14, provides a broad overview of the cryptocurrency space, the highest-capitalized coins and the trends expected to shape the ecosystem in the months ahead.

On the subject of token sales – or offers of custom cryptocurrencies used to bootstrap new blockchain networks – the company, which reported more than $54 billion in assets under management earlier this month, said that today’s comparatively high-risk environment could become more normalized within the next 20 years.

That is, of course, if the overall cryptocurrency market becomes more ubiquitous and major players from the current financial services sector become involved.

Canaccord’s analysts wrote:

“If, over the next [one to two] decades, the coin market evolves to a more mature state such that one day most coins are attached to well-established companies and trade with sufficient liquidity so as to reduce risk, we believe the gap between ICOs and IPOs will look fairly small. We are obviously not there yet, so in our opinion, while ICOs may hold a great deal of promise, they have to be viewed as extremely risky.”

Whether that process plays out remains to be seen, but recent data from CoinDesk’s ICO Tracker details the interest thus far around the blockchain funding model.

In September, for example, nearly $490 million was raised through ICOs, with the all-time cumulative amount collected coming in at more than $3.3 billion to date.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.

Disclaimer: This article should not be taken as, and is not intended to provide, investment advice. Please conduct your own thorough research before investing in any cryptocurrency.